Let's look good out there

PEORIA - A public-address announcer broke the news.

Before a second would tick off the clock of its Class 3A semifinal Friday against Champaign Centennial, North Lawndale College Prep would be assessed a technical foul.

Uniform violation. Bad stripes.

As Lawndale players watched helplessly from the side of Carver Arena's court, Centennial's Jeff Johnson sank one of two free throws....

The game ended the way it started before it started: Centennial, up one, 66-65....

The uniform violation broke a National Federation of State High School Associations rule that states the torso of the jersey — the area from an imaginary horizontal line at the base of the neckline extending to each armhole, down to the bottom hem and from side seam to side seam — must be a single solid color. Also, the side inserts (stripes) must be centered vertically below the armpit, and those stripes can't be more than 4 inches wide.

[From North Lawndale penalized for illegal uniforms -- chicagotribune.com]